˻ PREMIERE ˼

⌈ PRO AUDIO BONO is a Polish audio company, established in 2010, specializing in anti-vibration products - feet, platforms, stands and racks. Unlike most companies of this type, it has developed its own solutions, certified by patents. It recently started to offer feet with a significantly different design, made of a material called PEEK. We were the first to assess them. ⌋

THEY SAY THAT THE ONLY UNCHANGABLE THING in the universe is change. That is to say - everything flows, as a classic once said. Which is true also in such a conservative environment as audio with perfectionist ambitions. From the outside, it looks extremely progressive, clinging to technology, which - we know, after all - is in constant motion. From the inside, however, it is apparent that this outer shell is a bubble with thin walls and that inside, time flows in different directions and at different speeds. Such a local time anomaly.

˻ 1 ˺ This is why we have become accustomed to the fact that once companies have built their lineup and then their positioning based on some solution, they keep at it for years, refining, honing and nurturing it, but nevertheless not abandoning it. And that makes sense. This type of distinctive technology creates what is known as identity. It is a very important element of branding - just look at Rega tonearms, Sugden class A amplifiers' design, Accuphase's 70s-style gold-plated front panel, Ayon's tubes or Siltech's silver cables - these are all distinctive features, which immediately let us know what kind of company we are dealing with.

The same is true of the Polish company Pro Audio Bono. For a long time, its anti-vibration products were based on a concept in which two masses were separated by an elastic element, which was a string suspended on a block, separating the two planes from each other. The idea itself was not original, there were already similar solutions on the market at the time, but Mr Władysław Skrzypczak, the owner and designer of PAB, developed them in his own way, which resulted in perfectly working, really very nice products; more → HERE. In time, the platforms were joined by stands for the speakers, with the top decoupled in this way, and finally complete racks.

˻ 2 ˺ Subsequent generations of shelves changed their design, appearance etc. slightly, but the idea behind them remained the same. One important innovation was to equip the platforms with anti-vibration feet; more → HERE. And this was something that, as we can see in retrospect, changed the course the Polish company was following. For the feet in question were based on an idea in which two elements were separated by a self-aligning roller bearing. Unlike the products of Finite Elemente, Symposium, Franc Audio Accessories or Avatar Audio, however, these were not single balls, but sets of them forming ceramic ball bearings, similar to those we have in almost every wheel (bicycle, car, scooter, etc.). Over time, the shape of the feet, the material the balls in the bearings were made of, and later also the material of the housings that held them in place changed.

The Ceramic 70 Uni-Foots were similarly constructed and stayed in our system under the Acoustic Revive stands supporting the Harbeth M40.1 speakers; more → HERE ˻PL˺. One innovation we encountered at the time was the use of a housing made of a material called PEEK in the silicon nitride ball bearing; this is an acronym for the full name of the material: PoliEteroEteroKeton.

Invented in 1978 and introduced to the market in the early 1980s by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), it has revolutionized many industries. Suffice it to say that this material is readily used by turntable manufacturers, just to mention the Polish company BennyAudio.

˻ 3 ˺ On the occasion of the test of the aforementioned Uni-Foots, Mr Skrzypczak wrote:

PAB ceramic 70 uni-feet are made from AIF 316 L stainless steel, containing more than 60% iron, plus chromium (18%), nickel (15%), molybdenum (3%), manganese (2%) and sulphur (1%). Products made from 316 L steel exhibit resistance to high temperatures and high ductility and plasticity. Associated with these characteristics are excellent anti-vibration and insulating properties.

I emphasized these "excellent anti-vibration and insulation properties" because they expressed the designer's unshakable confidence in his products. So when, less than a year later, I received a message in which the head of PAB informed me of a completely new version of the PAB Ceramic 7060 SN feet, in which, instead of AISI 316L stainless steel, he had used the organic thermoplastic polymer PEEK, from which he had made the entire body, on the one hand I was surprised, and on the other it aroused my curiosity.

For such an unexpected, such a profound, such a big change must have been the result of a kind of 'cognitive shock' that the designer may have been dealing with. And this is rare and intriguing in audio. After all, not many people are able to admit that what they have said so far has changed. This is how the PAB PEEK 7060 SN feet came about.

▌ PAB PEEK 7060 SN

IN THE EMAIL REFERRED TO ABOVE, THE HEAD OF PAB WROTE:

I have sent you two types of feet, with the same silicon nitride ceramic bearings (Si3N4). Both feet have the same shape and dimensions, but differ in the material of the bearing body.

1. The steel feet are constructed from acid-resistant AISI 316 L stainless steel, used in the manufacture of surgical instruments, watch cases, precision devices, chemical apparatus and machine tools.

2. Feet made of PEEK (an acronym for the full name of polyetheretherketone), a plastic material with very good sliding properties and high abrasion resistance and - most importantly for us - very high vibration absorption, which improves the anti-vibration properties of the ceramic ball bearings.

The PAB ceramic 7060 SN feet are a modified version of the model previously sold under the name PAB ceramic 60 SN. The modification consisted of:

1. Increasing the size of the base to a diameter of ∅= 70 mm, beveled at the top to create "the illusion of a good connection to a cylindrical hub with a diameter of ∅= 60 mm"; the result, it reads, was an increased weight of the foot and its stability;
2. Reposition of the bearing from the base of the foot to its upper part, i.e. the hub.

As we read, tests carried out by the manufacturer have shown that such a modified foot "has better anti-vibration and acoustic properties". It is also more positionable, as the "non-rounded base with a large diameter eliminates the possibility of tilting when standing and connecting to the top section". The PEEK version looks identical, its components are identical in size, but instead of steel they use the aforementioned polymer./p>

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| A few simple words…

WŁADYSŁAW SKRZYPCZAK
owner, designer

PAB PEEK SN feet are made of the plastic material polyetheretherketone (commonly abbreviated as PEEK). It is a plastic with very high chemical, thermal and mechanical strength. It meets demanding standards, retains its shape and volume over a wide temperature range from -40 to +300 degrees Celsius and is resistant to aggressive chemicals.

In addition:
- it is able to withstand very high loads without losing its mechanical and sliding properties (PEEK has very low coefficients of friction),
- it is resistant to UV, gamma and X-rays,
- it has low flammability and low smoke development during combustion.

These properties make PEEK a very good material for replacing steel or co-forming with it in various constructions. It is therefore increasingly being used for the manufacture of medical devices (also for the production of implants and surgical instruments), for the manufacture of chemical apparatus, equipment for the food industry, means of transport, machine tool parts, power turbine blades, etc.

For us, the possibility of combining PEEK with steel and ceramics is very important. So far, we have used steel and ceramics to produce very effective anti-vibration feet. We are now starting to develop hybrid structures from these three materials. The first of these is the presented foot made of PEEK, but soon an anti-vibration platform made of this material will also be introduced.

It is also our intention to combine PEEK and steel in a single foot. This is because the results of tests on a foot with a steel base and a PEEK hub with a Si3N4 bearing are very promising. Tests of "Full PEEK" footers, in which the footer body and self-aligning bearing are made of PEEK, have also been performed offering promising results. WS

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PAB PEEK 7060 SN feet are in the form of a cylinder connected to a slightly wider, low "foot". A steel pin is screwed in from the top, to which a counter can be screwed from the top and/or screwed into the bottom of the unit. The feet are of medium size - the '70' in the name tells you the diameter ø of their base, and the '60' the diameter of the top (both values in mm). Although PEEK is by its nature colourless, it is very easily tinted. The feet in the test were an unusual 'flesh' colour, but I imagine black and white will be the most popular.

There is one more thing to consider: the new feet are significantly more expensive than their steel counterparts. The PAB Ceramic 60 SN costs 840 zloty apiece, while the PAB Ceramic 7060 SN costs 240 euros. The PAB PEEK SN, on the other hand, costs 560 euro (!). So for three pieces, we will pay a significant amount of €1680.

▌ SOUND

HOW WE LISTENED • Pro Audio's Bono anti-vibration feet were tested in the "High Fidelity" reference system. I always test the anti-vibration feet (feet) in my system in the same way - under the signal source, sometimes assisted by other devices. This time I tested them under the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF SACD player.

I'm moving the player around during the test, so its connections need to be flexible. I used Crystal Cable Absolute Dream interconnects for this purpose, and the player was powered by Harmonix X-DC350M2R Improved-Version cable. The comparison consisted of listening to the same piece of music (1-2 minutes) on the reference feet and transferring it to the test feet. The player and the test feet stood on the top of my Finite Elemente Pagode Edition Mk II carbon top rack.

Separately, I compared the PAB PEEK 7060 SN test feet with the original model, the PAB Ceramic 7060 SN

» RECORDINGS USED FOR THE TEST ⸜ a selection

⸜ BILL EVANS TRIO, Waltz For Debby, Riverside Records/Craft Recordings/Universal Classics & Jazz UCGO-9057, „Bill Evans Remaster Series”, SHM-SACD (1961/2023).
⸜ GARY BURTON & CHICK COREA, Crystal Silence, ECM Records/Tower Records • Universal Music LLC PROZ-1091, „ECM SA-CD Hybrid Selection”, SACD/CD (1973/2017).
⸜ JOHN LENNON/PLASTIC ONO BAND, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, Capitol Records/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDCD 760, „Original Master Recording”, Gold-CD (1970/2000).
⸜ THE POLICE, Synchronicity, A&M Records CD-3735, „Audio Master Plus Series”, CD (1983).
⸜ SAVAGE, Tonight, Discomagic Records/Vintage Pleasure Boutique VPB 010, Gold-CD (1984/2022).
⸜ DAVE GRUSIN, Out Of The Shadows, GRP GRP D-9511, CD (1982/1984).
⸜ ADAM CZERWIŃSKI, J.S. Bach ‘Music Of The Heavens’, AC Records ACR2024, CD (2024).

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IT SEEMS that evaluating anti-vibration feet is a difficult task. This is because it is assumed that the changes they bring to the sound, i.e. the signal modifications that occur with them, are small. In reality, however, this is a fairly simple task. The changes can be heard instantaneously and are quite important in building the 'identity', to use the term from the first part of the test, of a given system. It is an element of it that does not, in itself, modify the sound in the same way as its basic elements, but which nevertheless has a significant effect in emphasizing those changes that they introduce. And, like any other element of the setup, the anti-vibration feet vary.

The same goes for the new PAB PEEK 7060 SNs from Pro Audio Bono. They sounded significantly different from what I'm already used to from the Divine Acoustics Galileo on which my Ayon Audio player sits. But on the other hand - this is what is interesting - they sounded similar in a way. For it turns out that they simply represent very, I would say, high-end level. And the differences are not due to a difference in class, but to shifts in emphasis in what they do.

The PEEK feet are extremely resolving (I'm going to write "they are", but it's obviously about the changes they bring to the sound). They effortlessly achieve what many other anti-vibration elements can't - they go directly into the 'inside' of the music and open up the presentation from the inside, not the outside. This makes a big difference, because it makes the music conveyed effortlessly and without tension. But not because it is slowed down or muddied. The PAB's feet are completely different. They open up the sound, delivering the upper midrange and lower treble more powerfully, electrifying the delivery.

They do this in a similar way to how this range is reproduced by turntables; in this comparison, the Divine Acoustics feet would 'play' like an analogue tape recorder. So I momentarily heard clearer cymbals in the opening recording of the ˻ 1 ˺ BILL EVANS TRIO's Waltz For Debby released on SHM-SACD in 2023. The conversations underneath, the clatter, the noise of the hall, so to speak, were all perfectly intelligible. But the PEEK feet also extended the depth of the hall more strongly and moved the subsequent planes slightly away from me, resulting in a deeper stage. So they seem to 'translate' small changes in the signal perfectly, as if enabling them to come out of the shadows.

What I'm talking about came out perfectly in the ˻ 3 ˺ I’m Your Pal from GARY BURTON and CHICK COREA's album Crystal Silence. It opens with a strong piano - slightly on axis and slightly to the left. With Mr Skrzypczak's feet, his sound was vibrant, powerful but also not overdone. Similarly, the vibraphone sounded slightly to the left. The Divine Acoustics feet showed both instruments darker, lower and in a slightly less energetic way.

Interestingly, it was not the case that the sound was denser with Galileo. The opening up of the sound in the PABs does not involve a slimming down of the presentation. It's still dense, firm playing with strong images of great volume. But not only that. Because the attack is given here in a very precise way. When the bells ring out at the beginning of JOHN LENNON's debut solo album, in ˻ 1 ˺ Mother, they were clearer with PAB's feet, somehow more specific.

And yet it is not a 'pure' sound, it can even be perceived as electronically generated, and thus difficult to render. Recall that the four church bells that open the track were added during a post-recording editing session. According to The Beatles Bible website, Lennon slowed them down to achieve a suitably mournful introduction and that he came up with the idea after watching a horror film on TV; more → HERE.

So I read the PAB feet as something like a key to open up the sound. The sound is not bright with them, nor is it attacking. This is one of the features of this company's design resulting, I think, from the specific vibration damping in the roller bearings - namely: a total lack of brightness. But also the sound with them is not warm, in the sense that the feet don't warm anything up. So when Lennon starts singing, it's shown quite far into the mix, it's not magnified. The Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab version on the gold backing I used was based on a digital remaster approved in 2000 by Yoko Ono. Nevertheless, it sounds warm and low.

Nota bene, this was the first warning bell that Mobile Fidelity does not play cleanly. Its advertising slogan said that it only used original 'master' tapes. And here, for the first time, it offered digitally remastered discs, and not its own. Interesting, but somehow nobody raised a ruckus at the time, even though I wrote about it in an interview I did with one of the label's people at the time. This later hiccuped the company when it came to light that for years they had been remastering discs not from master tapes, but from DSD files; more → HERE.

ANYWAY, THE FEET FROM Mysiadlo, where Pro Audio Bono is based, have the special property of playing open yet full. Their tonal balance is excellent. They do not warm up the presentation, because part of the band, the brighter part of the midrange, from the Synchronicity album by THE POLICE was not lowered. I listened to the ˻ 9 ˺ Wrapped Around Your Finger track and gained certainty that this range was cranked up during mastering to make everything sound stronger and more alive.

By the way, I am very curious to see how this material will be presented on the, announced on 26th July, new version of the album, prepared for the 40th anniversary of its release; a version on SHM-CD has already been announced in the → CD JAPAN. The PEEK feet showed it, but did not emphasize it. In fact, I'd say that by spreading out the planes strongly, far into and close to me, they diminished some of this unpleasant effect. Which, again, made me go back to what I wrote about at the beginning - the resolution. It's a product that enables devices to present sounds better, in a more accurate, clearer and fuller way. It's not about the attack alone, but the whole sound, with fill and decay. They show a dense, full midrange, even though the overall sound is open.

However, it is important to know that the reference feet, as well as the → CARBIDE AUDIO CARBIDE BASE seem to play with lower bass. Earlier Pro Audio Bono feet actually favoured an accurate, fast drawing. This time it's different. It's still a fast, immediate slam, which seems to be another characteristic of its own. But now it's also low and full - lower and fuller than in any previous designs from this company. But in direct comparison the PEEKs seem to 'play' higher. And that's because they are not geared towards the low midrange, they don't complement it, they don't boost it, like the reference feet.

But you also need to know that the lower range is very well controlled with them. Better than in both reference feet. The kick drum beats in The Police's album-ending ˻ 11 ˺ Murder By Numbers were therefore fast and powerful. It was a dry beat, as in real life, with reverb applied by the sound engineer. The PABs also showed the snare drum very well, also quite dry and bright, but - above all - fast.

METAL vs PEEK • I didn’t plan it. However, when Mr Skrzypczak sent me the PEEK 7060 SN feet, in the package with them were the same feet, only with a body made of steel - that is, feet of an earlier generation. After a while, I realized that I had to make such a comparison.

Informing me by e-mail about the new feet, the head of PAB expressed himself extremely enthusiastically about them. What is manifested by the slogan stirred up by the company on advertisements, also in "High Fidelity": "PEEK is the Best!". It would be hard to find a more eloquent gesture on the part of the designer. Listening to an album by The Police I found it hard, however, not to admit he was right, in the sense that the polymer performed better than steel in the same constructions. And that's without long listening, without hard analysis. Not that the older feet are bad - they are still excellent. The PEEK version, however, reveals much more information in the music. It puts together a richer, more open, simply more interesting picture.

I use Pro Audio's Bono feet under the stands in my speakers, and I think this is one of the important elements of their 'tuning'. So I have a good relationship with the metal versions of the PABs. So it is not the case that you now have to throw away the older feet and buy new ones straight away. If you do that, you will get a significantly better sound. But not because there is something wrong with the metal versions. They are still great, very competent anti-vibration components. It's just that the PEEK is better, because it shows the higher midrange in a more refined way, and although it's more open, it's also more pleasant, denser, more saturated.

▌ Summary

MANUFACTURERS' DECLARATIONS are a very important part of the testing process. This is because they show the directions they have taken and the goals they have tried to achieve. They enable the reviewer to better understand the product in question. On the other hand, they are just as reliable as oral sources in story research - I don't know if you are aware of this, but contrary to popular understanding, they are the least reliable sources in this type of research. The same is true for audio.

This time, however, Pro Audio Bono designer’s belief in the superiority of a material called PEEK over metal in his designs is 100% correct. Even a brief comparison of them against each other showed that the new feet play in a more open and more resolving way, giving more enjoyment to the music. This also came out momentarily with the Music of the Heavens disc referenced in the table above. Oh, what a great album it is! And with the PEEK SN 7060 feet, its musical richness and superb sound were even more apparent.

The new feet from PAB can be placed next to almost all other designs and they will be, perhaps not noticeably better, I have not heard that, but at least equally good, and in some aspects - precisely the resolution, precisely the dynamics - they will be superior to the competition at a similar or even much higher price. The reference feet sound lower, a little denser and more "raw". Their tonal balance seems darker and more inwardly focused, while the PEEKs play in a livelier way, more 'forward', yet still somewhat pastel.

I invoked above the comparison between turntable (PEEK) and tape (Galileo), which seems to me the most appropriate. The first mode of presentation is beautiful, satisfying, pleasing, while the second is rougher, less "charming". Both are excellent. It is great that we have a choice. For the new feet from us ˻ RED FINGERPRINT ˺. And I'm already looking forward to PAB designs made entirely of this material. ●

» The text includes an affiliate link to the online shop → CD JAPAN.

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THIS TEST HAS BEEN DESIGNED ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINES adopted by the Association of International Audiophile Publications, an international audio press association concerned with ethical and professional standards in our industry, of which HIGH FIDELITY is a founding member. More about the association and its constituent titles → HERE.

→ www.AIAP-online.org